Water Leak Detection in Sacramento County — Find It Before It Finds You

The quickest check is your water meter. Turn off every faucet, appliance and irrigation zone, then watch the meter for 10 to 15 minutes. If the low-flow indicator or the dial is still moving, water is leaving the system somewhere. Other signs are a water bill that jumped without explanation, the sound of running water when nothing is on, musty smells, stains on ceilings or walls, and soggy spots in the yard.

No. We use acoustic and thermal equipment to locate the leak through the slab without cutting into it. We only open the concrete at the precise leak point once we’ve confirmed its location — typically a small, targeted access hole, not a trench across your floor.

It depends on the pipe around the leak. A single pinhole in otherwise sound copper is a spot repair. If the pipe shows thinning or corrosion in several places, replacing that run, or the whole system, stops you from paying for the next leak a few months later. For leaks under a concrete slab, the choice is between a spot repair and a reroute, which we cover on our slab leak detection page.

Many policies cover the resulting water damage (wet drywall, damaged flooring, mold remediation) but not the plumbing repair itself. Some policies cover both. We provide detailed documentation of the leak — location, cause, photos, and repair description — so your adjuster has everything they need. Check your policy or call your agent before the repair if you want confirmation.

Most residential leak detection visits take 1–2 hours. If the leak is in an accessible location (wall or exposed pipe), it’s often faster. Slab leaks and underground leaks may take longer because we’re working through concrete and soil. We don’t rush the process — accuracy matters more than speed.

Yes. That’s the entire point of professional detection equipment. We locate leaks inside walls, under concrete slabs, in crawlspaces, and in buried lines without needing visual access to the pipe. The equipment “sees” through the structure using sound, heat, and electronic signals.

Sewer leaks present differently — they typically cause odor, soggy soil, or slow drains rather than water bill spikes. If we suspect a sewer issue during detection, we run a camera inspection to confirm. We handle both water and sewer diagnostics in the same visit.

Usually into one of three places: a running toilet, an underground service line between the meter and the house, or a supply line inside a wall or under the slab. A running toilet is the cheapest to rule out. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait 15 minutes without flushing; color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking. If the toilets are fine and the meter still moves with everything off, the leak is hidden, and that is when detection equipment pays for itself.

Whenever possible, we detect and repair on the same visit. For straightforward wall or supply line leaks, same-day repair is standard. For slab leaks that require concrete cutting or a reroute, we may need to return with specific materials — but we’ll give you the repair quote on the spot so there’s no waiting for a second assessment.